Did you get some nice new jeans for Christmas? Unfortunately, they may have been produced with sandblasting, a deadly manufacturing method which has caused thousands of cases of silicosis among the workers. A new report from Sweden shows a ban is not enforced.

New research shows that sandblasting continues in high street production. A new report, Deadly Denim, released by the Clean Clothes Campaign, found that large factories exporting jeans overseas continue to use sandblasting.

After a long standing campaign launched by Clean Clothes Campaign in November 2010 and a recent petition hosted by Change.org, Giorgio Armani SpA agreed to ban the dangerous practice of sandblasting jeans, a technique used to give jeans a used look which is highly dangerous to workers.

Clean Clothes continues to focus on the remaining brands which have not responded to our call for banning sandblasting or whom have refused to communicate with us. They mostly happen to be Italian luxury brands – Roberto Cavalli and Dolce and Gabbana.

After an intensive campaign launched by the Clean Clothes Campaign and recently hosted by Change.org, the Italian textile brand Versace has just announced that it will join other denim manufacturers around the globe in calling for a ban on the practice of sandblasting.

The Clean Clothes Campaign has launched an appeal on jeans producers to stop sandblasting their products. Sandblasting can cause an acute form of the deadly lung disease silicosis. The practise puts the lives of thousands of sandblasting operators at serious risk. It's often performed in small workshops in the informal sector in jeans-producing countries like Bangladesh, Egypt, China, Turkey, Brazil and Mexico. Almost all of the jeans sold in Europe are produced in these countries. In Turkey alone, 46 documented cases of sandblasters contracting silicosis and dying have been registered. This is likely to be only the tip of the iceberg.